Skip to contents

This Week In Photos: Heatwave Swelters Chicago, Johnson’s 100th Day, Back To School And More

PHOTOS: Take a peek at life in the city through the eyes and lenses of the Block Club Chicago staff.

Colin Boyle and Block Club Chicago Staff

8:55 AM CDT on Aug 25, 2023

Neighbors and kids play in the water from a fire hydrant in Albany Park as Chicago reached record-breaking high temperatures on Aug. 23, 2023.

CHICAGO — Like the weather, news in Chicago has really begun to heat up as students return to class and the city saw record-tying temperatures.

See what Block Club reporters captured while covering the neighborhoods.

People walk through Lake Michigan at Montrose Beach in Uptown as Chicago hit the daily record high at 100 degrees on Aug. 24, 2023.

Asylum seekers escape the heat on a CTA cooling bus outside of the Gage Park emergency shelter as Chicago maintained record-breaking high “real feel” heat indexes on Aug. 24, 2023.

Carter plays in the water from a fire hydrant in Albany Park as Chicago reached record-breaking high temperatures on Aug. 23, 2023.

Read more: Chicago Ties All-Time Heat Index Record. Here’s How Locals Are Coping

Jessica Korbe, owner of Chicago Bike Boutique, and a customer on Aug. 18, 2023.

A vendor moves a cart near Buckingham Fountain on Aug. 23, 2023.

Read more: Grant Park Vendors Ready To Quit After Competing With Unlicensed Sellers, Special Events All Summer

Migrants shelter inside the Ogden (10th) District police station on Aug. 23, 2023.

Read more: Migrants Return To West Side Police Station Despite Ongoing Sexual Misconduct Investigation

Students at CPS John Hancock High School walk out on the second day of school, Aug. 22, 2023, in support for Principal Vanessa Puentes, who was recently removed as principal by the school’s LSC.

Read more: John Hancock College Prep Students Protest Principal’s Ouster By Local School Council

Happy diners at Margie’s Candies in West Town.

Customers at Mr. Beef with a poster for the show “The Bear” in the background.

Read more: ‘The Bear’ Effect: Chicago Restaurants Featured In Show See Traffic Skyrocket

Mayor Brandon Johnson poses for a photo in the West Loop on Aug. 18, 2023.

Block Club Investigative Editor Mick Dumke interviews Mayor Brandon Johnson Aug. 18 in the West Loop.

Read more: Mayor Brandon Johnson Promises More Help For Migrants And Homeless — But Offers Few Specifics

Maureen Blake, 71, shows off a basketball trophy for first place that her Independence Park’s Special Olympics Chicago team won in 2010, as seen Aug. 17, 2023.

Read more: Jefferson Park’s ‘Queen Of Bocce’ To Compete In Citywide Special Olympics Golden Games

Classmates Carter and Triston hang out during a back-to-school event at Jackie Robinson Elementary School in Bronzeville on Aug. 21, 2023.

Mayor Brandon Johnson jokingly picks up boxes of leftover free pizza after a back-to-school event at Jackie Robinson Elementary School in Bronzeville on Aug. 21, 2023.

Read more: First Day Of School: Chicago Public Schools Reopens Under A New Era Of Leadership

Phyllis Keenan is known as the “Woohoo Lady” for cheering on bikers and runners alike along the Lakefront Trail, as seen on the morning of Aug. 14, 2023.

Phyllis Keenan, the “Woohoo Lady,” hugs runner Derek Hahn along the Lakefront Trail at Fullerton on Aug. 14, 2023. Keenan is known for cheering on bikers and runners alike along the trail.

Read more: ‘Woo Lady’ Keeps Morning Crowd Motivated On Lakefront Trail

Ald. Bill Conway (34th) speaks to FPA staff on Aug. 12, 2023.

Read more: Downtown Alderman Wants To Boost Law To Keep Anti-Abortion Protesters Away From Patients

A KC-135 Stratotanker flies past the John Hancock Building during the Chicago Air and Water Show, as seen from Lake Michigan on Aug. 19, 2023.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team prepares to leap out over Chicago during a practice at the Chicago Air and Water Show on Aug. 18, 2023.

Read more: Chicago Air And Water Show, As Seen From The Air And Water (PHOTOS)

Current and former members of Bronzeville’s Tabernacle Baptist Church stand in front of building Aug. 18. The group is working with Preservation Chicago to have the church recognized as a city landmark.

Read more: Preservationists, Congregants Race To Save Historic Bronzeville Church In Foreclosure

Longtime resident Richard Morgan’s youth basketball team practices and plays at the field house at Taylor Park in Bronzeville on Aug. 21, 2023.

Read more: City Officials Deny Bronzeville’s Taylor Park Field House Will Be Converted To Migrant Shelter

A bee pollinates Coral Bells in a Jefferson Park native garden on Aug. 17, 2023.

Bradon Webb and Jessica Grzegorski smile in front of their native garden in Jefferson Park on Aug. 17, 2023.

Read more: This Jefferson Park Garden Is Attracting Pollinators And Winning Awards

The club’s major donors, Bartlett J. McCartin and George Rusu, cut a ceremonial ribbon to officially open the new Rusu-McCartin Boys and Girls Club, 4411 W. Chicago Ave.

A young person uses coding software to control a Lego structure he built at the new Rusu-McCartin Boys & Girls Club, 4411 W. Chicago Ave.

Read more: West Side Boys & Girls Club Opens At Controversial $128 Million Police Academy

Skinner Park Field House next to the basketball courts.

Read more: City Wants To Build Park Field House On West Loop Basketball Courts, Neighbors Say No

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

Thanks for subscribing to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

Watch our “On The Block” TV show on The U, CW26 and MeTV.

Listen to “It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast”:

Block Club Chicago Staff

Read More:

The Latest

At Southport Fundamentals, Kids Of All Ages Foster ‘Joy Through Learning’

The recently opened community center offers classes and activities for childens and adults, with childcare services and after-school care to come, its founder says.

Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Northalsted

9:42 AM CDT

Chicago Sees A Record 27 Migrant Buses Arrive In Less Than A Week

The pace of arrivals has accelerated, further straining the city's already-strapped shelters, police stations and resources.

Madison Savedra

9:27 AM CDT

South Side Alderman, Activists Call On Mayor To Help Pass South Shore Housing Protections

Activists hope Mayor Brandon Johnson is more supportive than his predecessor of the plan to keep residents in their homes amid the Obama Presidential Center's construction.

Hyde Park, Woodlawn, South Shore

9:11 AM CDT

Portage Park Center Gets $335K From State To Launch Homelessness Outreach Program

The funding will enable Lutheran Social Services of Illinois to hire three full-time case managers and a housing locator who will connect neighbors in need to social services.

Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park

Ariel Parrella-Aureli

9:02 AM CDT

See more stories